DoublesGastrodon [QC 2/2] [GP 2/2]

Gastrodon's great defensive typing and decent bulk enable it to handle many prominent metagame threats such as Incineroar, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, and Mega Manectric. Furthermore, its ability, Storm Drain, offers great team support by redirecting Water-type moves. Its wide movepool and access to Recover further increase Gastrodon's supportive capabilities and longevity. However, Gastrodon's low Speed means that it is usually forced to take a hit before it can move. Also, Gastrodon faces some competition from Tapu Fini as a bulky Water-type because of the latter's access to helpful supportive moves like Heal Pulse, Nature's Madness, and Taunt, as well as its better offensive presence because of Calm Mind. However, Gastrodon sets itself apart from Tapu Fini with its ability, typing, and reliable recovery.

Earth Power is the STAB move of choice thanks to its decent power and neutral coverage. It has an advantage over Water-type STAB moves as it prevents Gastrodon from being walled by opposing Gastrodon. Ice Beam hits targets that evade or shrug off Earth Power; namely, Flying-types like Landorus-T and Mega Salamence as well as Grass-types like Amoonguss and Tapu Bulu. Icy Wind, on the other hand, is weaker than Ice Beam but provides the team with speed control. Recover increases Gastrodon's longevity, allowing it to do its job for a longer amount of time. Protect helps scout opposing moves and survive a strong attack or a double target. Toxic is an option over Protect that allows Gastrodon to cripple bulky Pokemon like Porygon2, opposing Gastrodon, and Cresselia.

Set Details
========

Wiki Berry heals Gastrodon for half of its maximum HP when it's severely weakened. Groundium Z reduces Gastrodon's passivity at the cost of Berry recovery by providing it with a strong one-time nuke. Using Groundium Z also makes it even easier to switch in on Incineroar, which cannot punish such sets with Knock Off. Storm Drain is necessary for redirecting opposing Water-type moves and potentially increasing Gastrodon's Special Attack, making it less passive. 236 EVs in HP, 152 EVs in Defense, 84 EVs in Special Defense, and a Relaxed nature ensure that Gastrodon will survive Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and two standard Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beams. The leftover EVs are dumped in Special Attack. Minimized Speed is used to have a better matchup against Trick Room. If using Groundium Z, Gastrodon can move 20 EVs from Defense to Special Attack and run a Quiet nature to OHKO standard Incineroar with Tectonic Rage while still surviving two Choice Band Zygarde's Thousand Arrows.

Usage Tips
========

You can switch Gastrodon in on a predicted Water-type attack to possibly get a Special Attack boost. Be careful if there is a Grass-type like Tapu Bulu or Kartana or just a strong Pokemon like Tapu Lele or Dragon Dance Zygarde on the field, however. Keeping Gastrodon on the field alongside Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Incineroar and Diancie is a smart idea too, but note that Storm Drain redirects only single-target attacks, so Gastrodon's teammate still will be vulnerable to spread moves like Muddy Water. Use Recover proactively to keep Gastrodon out of the range of attacks like Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam and Tapu Lele's Psychic. Avoid status, namely Toxic, and carefully play around possible Toxic users like Porygon2 and Chansey.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Victini and Diancie enjoy Water-type moves being redirected by Gastrodon. Fire-types like Incineroar, Volcarona, and the aforementioned Victini are especially notable teammates, as they appreciate Gastrodon's Storm Drain and threaten Grass-types in return. Gastrodon handles Electric-types like Tapu Koko and Mega Manectric well, so Pokemon that have trouble dealing with them like Mega Salamence and Zapdos enjoy having Gastrodon as a teammate. In return, they can beat Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Amoonguss. Thanks to its low Speed, Gastrodon can even find a place on some Trick Room teams. It synergizes well with attackers like Diancie and Mega Camerupt because they are able to either lure Water-type moves for Gastrodon or deal with Grass-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute in conjunction with Leftovers can be used to avoid Toxic more easily and fire off more free hits. Muddy Water is a STAB spread option with the additional utility of potentially lowering the accuracy of foes. Clear Smog gets rid of stat changes, stopping setup sweepers like Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Kommo-o from doing their job. Keep in mind, however, that by using these moves, Gastrodon will be forced to give up an important moveslot, possibly making it less effective overall.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Kartana and Tapu Bulu take advantage of Gastrodon's 4x weakness to Grass-type attacks and threaten to easily KO it.

**Strong Attacks**: Gastrodon's bulk can be a bit disappointing even when invested, so powerful attacks like Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and Tapu Lele's Psychic hurt Gastrodon a lot.

[Team Options] Celesteela doesn't *really* beat Grass types proactively so much as it walls them out. Zapdos could be a better mention here since it OHKOs Kartana and 2HKOs Bulu

[Other Options] picky but I'd say "bulky pokemon" instead of "defensive pokemon" because mons like cresselia and chansey can win games on their own without being strictly defensive

[Checks and Counters] My only critique here is that this section feels....empty? Like there should be more but I can't really think of anything specific. Possibly Tapu Fini because it's a water type that Gastrodon can't beat, misty terrain nullifies toxic, and fini sets up CM in its face? If I think of anything else I'll definitely let you know, it just feels a little weird to me to only have 3 things here even though they're definitely the 3 main checks/counters

[Team Options] Celesteela doesn't *really* beat Grass types proactively so much as it walls them out. Zapdos could be a better mention here since it OHKOs Kartana and 2HKOs Bulu

[Other Options] picky but I'd say "bulky pokemon" instead of "defensive pokemon" because mons like cresselia and chansey can win games on their own without being strictly defensive

[Checks and Counters] My only critique here is that this section feels....empty? Like there should be more but I can't really think of anything specific. Possibly Tapu Fini because it's a water type that Gastrodon can't beat, misty terrain nullifies toxic, and fini sets up CM in its face? If I think of anything else I'll definitely let you know, it just feels a little weird to me to only have 3 things here even though they're definitely the 3 main checks/counters

>DUUTL

I'd remove the sentence "Low speed helps against Trick Room", that's probably more fitting in Set Details when you're explaining the use of Relaxed nature.

[USAGE TIPS]

I would rework the first bit, you have to be pretty careful switching Gastrodon in because it's so slow that its very open to being 2hkoed after the switch in. You are really only switching it in liberally if its totally safe to do so and there aren't two things on the field that threaten to do a minimum of 60% to Gastro. Maybe just mention that Gastrodon always has the opportunity to get boosts if there's an opposing Water-type on the field.

Maybe include a sentence after the "keep gastro next to incin" sentence stating that Storm Drain only redirects single target attacks, and the partner will still be vulnerable to moves like Muddy Water? I know that's a pretty common misconception among new players.

I'd remove the sentence "Low speed helps against Trick Room", that's probably more fitting in Set Details when you're explaining the use of Relaxed nature.

[USAGE TIPS]

I would rework the first bit, you have to be pretty careful switching Gastrodon in because it's so slow that its very open to being 2hkoed after the switch in. You are really only switching it in liberally if its totally safe to do so and there aren't two things on the field that threaten to do a minimum of 60% to Gastro. Maybe just mention that Gastrodon always has the opportunity to get boosts if there's an opposing Water-type on the field.

Maybe include a sentence after the "keep gastro next to incin" sentence stating that Storm Drain only redirects single target attacks, and the partner will still be vulnerable to moves like Muddy Water? I know that's a pretty common misconception among new players.

woof

Gastrodon's great defensive typing and decent bulk enable it to handle many prominent metagame threats such as Incineroar, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, and Mega Manectric. Furthermore, its ability,(AC)in Storm Drain,(AC) offers great team support by redirecting Water-type moves. Itswide movepool and access to Recover further increase Gastrodon's supportive capabilities and longevity. However, Gastrodon's low Speed means that it is usually forced to take a hit before it can move. Also,(AC) Gastrodon faces some competition from Tapu Fini as a bulky Water-type because of the latter's access to helpful supportive moves like Heal Pulse, Nature's Madness, and Taunt, as well as less passivity its better offensive presence because of Calm Mind. However, Gastrodon sets itself apart from Tapu Fini with its ability and reliable recovery.

Earth Power is the STAB move of choice thanks to its decent power and neutral coverage. It has an advantage over Water-type STAB moves as it preventsin preventing Gastrodon from being walled by opposing Gastrodon. Ice Beam hits Flying-types like Landorus-T and Mega Salamence(RC) as well as Grass-types like Kartana and Tapu Bulu. Icy Wind, on the other hand, is weaker than Ice Beam(RC) but it provides your the team with a Speed control. Recover increases Gastrodon longevity, allowing to efficiently do its job for more time a longer amount of time. Protect helps scout foes' opposing moves and survive a strong attack or a double target. Toxic is an option over Protect that allows Gastrodon to cripple bulky Pokemon like Porygon2, opposing Gastrodon, and Cresselia.

Set Details
========

Wiki Berry heals Gastrodon for half of its maximum HP when it's severely weakened. Groundium Z reduces Gastrodon's passivity at the cost of Berry recovery by providing it with a strong one-time nuke. Storm Drain is necessary for redirecting opposing Water-type moves and thus potentially increasing Gastrodon's Special Attack, making it less passive. 236 EVs in HP, 152 EVs in Defense, 84 EVs (or remove the second 'EVs', but I like keeping it) in Special Defense, and a Relaxed nature ensure that Gastrodon will survive a Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and two standartd Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beams. The leftover EVs are dumped in Special Attack. Minimized Speed is used for having to have a better matchup versus against Trick Room. If using Groundium Z, you Gastrodon can move 112 EVs from Defense to Special Attack for OHKOing to OHKO standartd Incineroar with Tectonic Rage while still surviving Life Orb Tapu Lele's Psyshock after Stealth Rock.

Usage Tips
========

You can switch Gastrodon on a predicted Water-type attack to possibly get a Special Attack boost. Be careful if there is a Grass-type like Tapu Bulu and Kartana or just a strong Pokemon like Tapu Lele and Dragon Dance Zygarde on the field, however. Keeping Gastrodon on the field alongside Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Incineroar and Diancie is a smart idea too, but note that Storm Drain redirects only single-target attacks, so Gastrodon's teammate still will be vulnerable to spread moves like Muddy Water. Use Recover proactively to keep Gastrodon out of the range of attacks like Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam and Tapu Lele's Psychic. You should Avoid status, namely Toxic, and carefully play around possible Toxic users like Porygon2 and Chansey.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Victini and Diancie enjoy Water-type moves being redirected by Gastrodon. Fire-types like Incineroar, Volcarona, and the aforementioned Victini are especially notable teammates, as they appreciate Gastrodon's Storm Drain and threaten Grass-types in return. Intimidate support from the likes of Incineroar, Mega Manectric, and Salamence helps Gastrodon sponge physical attacks easier more easily. Gastrodon handles Electric-types like Tapu Koko and Mega Manectric well, and so Pokemon that have troubles dealing with them like Mega Salamence and Zapdos enjoy Gastrodon as a teammate. Examples include Mega Salamence and Zapdos.In return, they also can beat Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Amoonguss for Gastrodon. Thanks to its low Speed, Gastrodon can even can find a place on some Trick Room teams. It synergizes well with attackers like Diancie, Mega Camerupt, and Mega Abomasnow because they are able to either lure Water-type moves for Gastrodon or deal with Grass-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute in conjunction with Leftovers can be used to avoid Toxic more easily and fire off more free hits. Muddy Water is a STAB spread option with an the additional utility in of potentially lowering foes' the accuracy of foes. Clear Smog gets rid of stat changes, stopping setup sweepers like Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Kommo-o from doing their job. Keep in mind, however, that by using these moves,(AC) Gastrodon will you'll be forced to give up an important moveslot, andit can make Gastrodon possibly making it less effective overall.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Kartana and Tapu Bulu take advantage of Gastrodon's 4x weakness to Grass-type attacks and easily threaten to easily KO it.

**Strong Attacks**: Gastrodon's bulk can be a bit disappointing even when invested, and so powerful attacks like Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and Tapu Lele's Psychic hurt Gastrodon a lot.

Using headphones to drown out your mind

Gastrodon's great defensive typing and decent bulk enable it to handle many prominent metagame threats such as Incineroar, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, and Mega Manectric. Furthermore, its ability, Storm Drain, offers great team support by redirecting Water-type moves. Its wide movepool and access to Recover further increase Gastrodon's supportive capabilities and longevity. However, Gastrodon's low Speed means that it is usually forced to take a hit before it can move. Also, Gastrodon faces some competition from Tapu Fini as a bulky Water-type because of the latter's access to helpful supportive moves like Heal Pulse, Nature's Madness, and Taunt, as well as its better offensive presence because of Calm Mind. However, Gastrodon sets itself apart from Tapu Fini with its ability, typing, and reliable recovery.

Earth Power is the STAB move of choice thanks to its decent power and neutral coverage. It has an advantage over Water-type STAB moves as it prevents Gastrodon from being walled by opposing Gastrodon. Ice Beam hits targets that evade or shrug off Earth Power; namely, Flying-types like Landorus-T and Mega Salamence as well as Grass-types like Kartana Amoonguss (Earth Power is stronger against Kart) and Tapu Bulu. Icy Wind, on the other hand, is weaker than Ice Beam but provides the team with Speed speed control. Recover increases Gastrodon's longevity, allowing it to do its job for a longer amount of time. Protect helps scout opposing moves and survive a strong attack or a double target. Toxic is an option over Protect that allows Gastrodon to cripple bulky Pokemon like Porygon2, opposing Gastrodon, and Cresselia.

Set Details
========

Wiki Berry heals Gastrodon for half of its maximum HP when it's severely weakened. Groundium Z reduces Gastrodon's passivity at the cost of Berry recovery by providing it with a strong one-time nuke. Using Groundium Z also makes it even easier to switch in on Incineroar, which cannot punish such sets with Knock Off. (QC edit, more of a personal preference than something I think is essential - feel free to PM me about this or just leave it out) Storm Drain is necessary for redirecting opposing Water-type moves and potentially increasing Gastrodon's Special Attack, making it less passive. 236 EVs in HP, 152 EVs in Defense, 84 EVs in Special Defense, and a Relaxed nature ensure that Gastrodon will survive Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and two standard Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beams. The leftover EVs are dumped in Special Attack. Minimized Speed is used to have a better matchup against Trick Room. If using Groundium Z, Gastrodon can move 112 20 EVs from Defense to Special Attack and run a Quiet nature (Switching to Quiet gives Gastro 5 extra points in Def) to OHKO standard Incineroar with Tectonic Rage while still surviving Life Orb Tapu Lele's Psyshock after Stealth Rock. (You might want to use taking two Choice Banded Zygarde Thousand Arrows instead, slightly more relevant calc. Up to you though)

Usage Tips
========

You can switch Gastrodon in on a predicted Water-type attack to possibly get a Special Attack boost. Be careful if there is a Grass-type like Tapu Bulu and or Kartana or just a strong Pokemon like Tapu Lele and or Dragon Dance Zygarde on the field, however. Keeping Gastrodon on the field alongside Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Incineroar and Diancie is a smart idea too, but note that Storm Drain redirects only single-target attacks, so Gastrodon's teammate still will be vulnerable to spread moves like Muddy Water. Use Recover proactively to keep Gastrodon out of the range of attacks like Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam and Tapu Lele's Psychic. Avoid status, namely Toxic, and carefully play around possible Toxic users like Porygon2 and Chansey.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Victini and Diancie enjoy Water-type moves being redirected by Gastrodon. Fire-types like Incineroar, Volcarona, and the aforementioned Victini are especially notable teammates, as they appreciate Gastrodon's Storm Drain and threaten Grass-types in return. Intimidate support from the likes of Incineroar, Mega Manectric, and Salamence helps Gastrodon sponge physical attacks more easily. (I make it policy to only mention Intimidate in Team Options in cases where it's especially needed - think Zard Y, Chansey, Volcarona, or CM users. Otherwise, we'd have this sentence in every single analysis) Gastrodon handles Electric-types like Tapu Koko and Mega Manectric well, so Pokemon that have trouble dealing with them like Mega Salamence and Zapdos enjoy having Gastrodon as a teammate. In return, they can beat Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Amoonguss. Thanks to its low Speed, Gastrodon can even find a place on some Trick Room teams. It synergizes well with attackers like Diancie, (RC) and Mega Camerupt, and Mega Abomasnow because they are able to either lure Water-type moves for Gastrodon or deal with Grass-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute in conjunction with Leftovers can be used to avoid Toxic more easily and fire off more free hits. Muddy Water is a STAB spread option with the additional utility of potentially lowering the accuracy of foes. Clear Smog gets rid of stat changes, stopping setup sweepers like Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Kommo-o from doing their job. Keep in mind, however, that by using these moves, Gastrodon will be forced to give up an important moveslot, possibly making it less effective overall.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Kartana and Tapu Bulu take advantage of Gastrodon's 4x weakness to Grass-type attacks and threaten to easily KO it.

**Strong Attacks**: Gastrodon's bulk can be a bit disappointing even when invested, so powerful attacks like Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and Tapu Lele's Psychic hurt Gastrodon a lot.

Gastrodon's great defensive typing and decent bulk enable it to handle many prominent metagame threats such as Incineroar, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, and Mega Manectric. Furthermore, its ability, Storm Drain, offers great team support by redirecting Water-type moves. Its wide movepool and access to Recover further increase Gastrodon's supportive capabilities and longevity. However, Gastrodon's low Speed means that it is usually forced to take a hit before it can move. Also, Gastrodon faces some competition from Tapu Fini as a bulky Water-type because of the latter's access to helpful supportive moves like Heal Pulse, Nature's Madness, and Taunt, as well as its better offensive presence because of Calm Mind. However, Gastrodon sets itself apart from Tapu Fini with its ability, typing, and reliable recovery.

Earth Power is the STAB move of choice thanks to its decent power and neutral coverage. It has an advantage over Water-type STAB moves as it prevents Gastrodon from being walled by opposing Gastrodon. Ice Beam hits targets that evade or shrug off Earth Power; namely, Flying-types like Landorus-T and Mega Salamence as well as Grass-types like Kartana Amoonguss (Earth Power is stronger against Kart) and Tapu Bulu. Icy Wind, on the other hand, is weaker than Ice Beam but provides the team with Speed speed control. Recover increases Gastrodon's longevity, allowing it to do its job for a longer amount of time. Protect helps scout opposing moves and survive a strong attack or a double target. Toxic is an option over Protect that allows Gastrodon to cripple bulky Pokemon like Porygon2, opposing Gastrodon, and Cresselia.

Set Details
========

Wiki Berry heals Gastrodon for half of its maximum HP when it's severely weakened. Groundium Z reduces Gastrodon's passivity at the cost of Berry recovery by providing it with a strong one-time nuke. Using Groundium Z also makes it even easier to switch in on Incineroar, which cannot punish such sets with Knock Off. (QC edit, more of a personal preference than something I think is essential - feel free to PM me about this or just leave it out) Storm Drain is necessary for redirecting opposing Water-type moves and potentially increasing Gastrodon's Special Attack, making it less passive. 236 EVs in HP, 152 EVs in Defense, 84 EVs in Special Defense, and a Relaxed nature ensure that Gastrodon will survive Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and two standard Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beams. The leftover EVs are dumped in Special Attack. Minimized Speed is used to have a better matchup against Trick Room. If using Groundium Z, Gastrodon can move 112 20 EVs from Defense to Special Attack and run a Quiet nature (Switching to Quiet gives Gastro 5 extra points in Def) to OHKO standard Incineroar with Tectonic Rage while still surviving Life Orb Tapu Lele's Psyshock after Stealth Rock. (You might want to use taking two Choice Banded Zygarde Thousand Arrows instead, slightly more relevant calc. Up to you though)

Usage Tips
========

You can switch Gastrodon in on a predicted Water-type attack to possibly get a Special Attack boost. Be careful if there is a Grass-type like Tapu Bulu and or Kartana or just a strong Pokemon like Tapu Lele and or Dragon Dance Zygarde on the field, however. Keeping Gastrodon on the field alongside Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Incineroar and Diancie is a smart idea too, but note that Storm Drain redirects only single-target attacks, so Gastrodon's teammate still will be vulnerable to spread moves like Muddy Water. Use Recover proactively to keep Gastrodon out of the range of attacks like Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam and Tapu Lele's Psychic. Avoid status, namely Toxic, and carefully play around possible Toxic users like Porygon2 and Chansey.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Water-type attacks like Victini and Diancie enjoy Water-type moves being redirected by Gastrodon. Fire-types like Incineroar, Volcarona, and the aforementioned Victini are especially notable teammates, as they appreciate Gastrodon's Storm Drain and threaten Grass-types in return. Intimidate support from the likes of Incineroar, Mega Manectric, and Salamence helps Gastrodon sponge physical attacks more easily. (I make it policy to only mention Intimidate in Team Options in cases where it's especially needed - think Zard Y, Chansey, Volcarona, or CM users. Otherwise, we'd have this sentence in every single analysis) Gastrodon handles Electric-types like Tapu Koko and Mega Manectric well, so Pokemon that have trouble dealing with them like Mega Salamence and Zapdos enjoy having Gastrodon as a teammate. In return, they can beat Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Amoonguss. Thanks to its low Speed, Gastrodon can even find a place on some Trick Room teams. It synergizes well with attackers like Diancie, (RC) and Mega Camerupt, and Mega Abomasnow because they are able to either lure Water-type moves for Gastrodon or deal with Grass-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute in conjunction with Leftovers can be used to avoid Toxic more easily and fire off more free hits. Muddy Water is a STAB spread option with the additional utility of potentially lowering the accuracy of foes. Clear Smog gets rid of stat changes, stopping setup sweepers like Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Kommo-o from doing their job. Keep in mind, however, that by using these moves, Gastrodon will be forced to give up an important moveslot, possibly making it less effective overall.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Kartana and Tapu Bulu take advantage of Gastrodon's 4x weakness to Grass-type attacks and threaten to easily KO it.

**Strong Attacks**: Gastrodon's bulk can be a bit disappointing even when invested, so powerful attacks like Landorus-T's Tectonic Rage and Tapu Lele's Psychic hurt Gastrodon a lot.